The 2025 season opener will serve as a homecoming for several members of the Nebraska football team when the Huskers take on Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Junior defensive back Jamir Conn, senior linebacker Dasan McCullough, freshman running back Isaiah Mozee, redshirt freshman wide receiver Keelan Smith, freshman linebacker Dawson Merritt, freshman offensive linemen Juju Marks and sophomore wide receiver Hayes Miller are all from the Kansas City area.
Defensive line coach Terry Bradden also joined the Nebraska staff this offseason after spending eight seasons on the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff.
Going into the 2025 season, the Huskers will have veteran experience with the likes of transfers McCullough and Conn working to earn spots in the two-deep.
Conn attended Lee’s Summit North High School before starting his collegiate career at Southern Illinois, where he played for two seasons. During his sophomore campaign, he made 11 starts, recording 57 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and six pass break ups.
Come Aug. 28, he will officially play in the first FBS game of his college career.
“Kansas City is my hometown, so that’s obviously good,” Conn said. “Really a dream come true being able to play at home. (I have) a lot of family coming, get to see everybody, but really just being able to win, get to start with my guys … So just being able to take the field with my guys, and put our best foot forward, and show the world what we can do, that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
McCullough is another transfer with a lot of experience. He grew up in Kansas City attending Blue Valley North High School before transferring schools his senior year. McCullough began his college career at Indiana where he played for one season before moving on to Oklahoma in 2023. He spent two seasons with the Sooners before transferring to Nebraska this offseason.
During his junior season with the Sooners, he played in seven games while starting one. He racked up 17 tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss.
McCullough’s father, Deland McCullough, spent three seasons as the running backs coach for the Chiefs, from 2018 to 2020, where he won one Super Bowl ring in 2020.
The younger McCullough said he has a lot of great memories from growing up with his dad as a coach.
“The AFC championship games, all that, I was there for every single home game in Arrowhead, so it’s going to be a surreal feeling being able to play there next week,” McCullough said.
High School all-American and former wide receiver Isaiah Mozee played his prep career at Lee’s Summit North High School in Kansas City. The former four-star recruit flipped his commitment from Oregon to Nebraska where he will play running back.
During his senior season, he totaled 60 receptions for 903 yards and 13 scores, rushed 52 times for 420 yards and seven more touchdowns and returned three punts for touchdowns. Mozee also won the Otis Taylor award in 2024, which is given to the top tight end or wide receiver in the Kansas City area.
His father, Jamar Mozee, joined Nebraska’s staff as senior football assistant last year after coaching for Lee’s Summit North.
After making the position switch during camp, Mozee has climbed the depth chart and looks to be in the mix for playing time as a true freshman.
“He has natural God-given abilities, probably from his father who’s on our staff, obviously,” running backs coach EJ Barthel said. “But he’s got some instincts where he has a feel for the game. He knows how to make people miss in small space, he knows how to make people miss in the open field. So any athlete like that, we obviously want to put the ball in their hands and try to exploit the defense for sure.”
Smith is another young player that’s looking to earn playing time in the Husker offense in 2025. He played his high school ball at Liberty North High School, where he helped the team win the state championship with a record of 13-1 his senior season. During his senior campaign, he had 74 receptions for 1,268 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was also named the Missouri Offensive Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound wideout redshirted during his first season, appearing in one game and making one catch for 4 yards.
As excited as the Kansas City Huskers are for the visit home, next Thursday will be a business trip as the Huskers look to open the season with a win. Kickoff at Arrowhead is set for 8 p.m. CT.
